They built a deep connection despite working remotely

It can be hard to start a new job sequestered at home during a pandemic, and Meagan Alderson struggled to fit in after working at a tech company for only two months.

When her colleague Melbie Balam realized that Alderson was having a hard time, she decided to reach out to her regularly to make sure she was OK.

“With everyone remote, you didn’t have the same social interactions. You didn’t have people sitting with you at lunch and asking you how you were doing,” Alderson said. “Melbie and I would do weekly check-ins and I would raise concerns about struggles that I was having and how to navigate them. That’s how our friendship developed. She became a mentor and we realized we were similar and we had a lot of the same values. We quickly started relying on each other for personal things as well.”

For Balam, Alderson became “the person that I could call and talk through things with, who always left me feeling supported.” Overwhelmed by endless Zoom calls, homeschooling and her partner’s new business, Balam said, Alderson helped her keep her life together. “If I had a bad day, she would drive over and we would talk. If she had things that she was going through, we were able to lean on each other through phone calls and video chats. What grew was a cross-mentorship. We helped each other bring value to each other. Other than my family, she is the one person who helped me through the social protests in 2020. I’m very outspoken. I’m a mobilizer in the community. She helped me to facilitate that.”

Over the last year, both have moved on to new careers: Alderson, 34, is a director of communications at Great Place to Work and Balam, 34, works in data security at TikTok. As Alderson watched some friendships fade and others deal with social anxiety as the world opened up, she acknowledged that her friendship with Balam has empowered her both personally and professionally.

“Melbie changed my life in that she helped me and supported me and taught me how to advocate for myself,” she said. “She showed me my worth and helped me to believe in myself. I don’t know that I would have gotten my new job if not for her support and friendship. She believed that I was deserving of more. She is a constant. I know I can call her anytime and she will pick up.”

Balam puts it another way: “She is my soul sister. We will be friends for life.”